Wednesday, 8 August 2012

Contributions from junta, then and now

Bookshelf started
with a personal collection of 30 odd books. Then came surprises in form friends
coming out with their contributions to the collection and a lot of
serendipitous interactions regarding books, ending in friendships.

The cause
had an enigma that attracted people, brilliant ones at that.

The potential of bookshelf in R-land seemed bright and we
ended up with 150 books to offer by the end of the last semester. It was clear
that contributions were the way to go. It ballooned our collection (which was,
and is, never sufficient) easily and the books started moving among people more
swiftly, safely and timely.

Alongside, as the collection grew, so did the required hustle.
There was a need to refine the system so that contributions could be rewarding
and fulfilling for people. We did recognize the fact that people are more than
willing to be a part of this but we still felt that be it as good in its own
right, it still couldn’t substitute a concrete model.

So coming on to the specifics, here is how it works.

How can you
contribute: You just have to fill this form by clicking here or the bottom of this post and list the
books you would like to contribute. That’s all.

Upkeep: We can
collect your books and keep it with us. Some people prefer this for the books
that are only laying around their rooms. It does seem to be a better option
than losing it in the vortex of friends. The books are kept well filed to
prevent any damages (the above image is an exception). Anytime you want your book back, you just have to give us
a shout and we’ll give it back in your room.

On the other hand, there are some books you really love and
want to keep with yourselves but you wouldn’t mind giving it to someone who
wants to read it. In that case, you could just list the books with bookshelf and keep the books with you.
In case we get a request, we will pick the book up from you and deliver it to
the guy who wants it.

Rent: You will
not have to pay a deposit on books you rent for yourself if it falls in the
price range of a book you have contributed. Also, if a book you have contributed
to bookshelf gets rented, you will get half of the rent paid for it.

But let me hold you for a second if you are already thinking
about how your collection is going to bring you riches. It is unlikely that the
sum you get from the books being rented will be large enough for a chapo. The
essence of this arrangement is to try and eliminate monetary transactions
altogether, especially among heavy readers.

For example, if you contribute some
books, X,Y & Z, you wouldn’t have to pay the deposit of some book that you
rent out for yourself, say A. And by the time you return A after reading, maybe
your own books have made enough rounds so that you end up having not to pay
even the rent for A (this actually started happening for a few people by the
end of last sem.)

Damages:By far
our experience has been good with the junta. It turns out that if you do your
job well, other will do the same as well, even college students. Even then, in
case your book gets misplaced, the costs will be covered.

Finally, we’d like you to be a part of this reading crazed
group and will appreciate any contributions you put up.

.

Otherwise you can check out our collection on Goodreads and
pick up something you like.